Military Museum - Suomenlinna Sea Fortress Island

Discover Finland's military and defence force history with a visit to Suomenlinna island's Military Museum

The exhibition at the Military Museum’s Manege portrays the four wars Finland has fought during its independence: the Civil War in 1918, the Winter War in 1939 – 40, the Continuation War in 1941 – 44 and the Lapland War in 1944 – 45. The exhibition continues in the adjacent building, telling the story of the Finnish Defence Forces in the post-war period up to the present day.

Originally used as a storeroom for artillery at the Suomenlinna fortress in the 19th century, the Military Museum's building itself has a story of its own. Now, as a museum, its exhibition, From Autonomy to Atalanta, focuses on the history of Finland’s defence forces and soldiers, as well as wars involving Finland from the 17th century to the present day. Visitors can learn through the objects (including the Submarine Vesikko) and displays about the weapons and wars throughout the displays.

History-lovers will be fascinated by the amazing collection of military artefacts while learning about Finland's defence forces from the 1800s to modern time. From anti-aircraft guns and field artillery to Soviet torpedos, a Somali pirate boat, torpedo tube and tanks, there is plenty to discover at this historic museum.

Highlights

Multilingual multimedia exhibition presentations

Real-life historic military artefacts

Military uniforms through the ages

Don't Miss

Three exhibition halls

Historic armaments including16th-century guns as well as modern guns, cannons, a tank and a horse-drawn canteen and an anti-ship missile